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LETTER O IMMORTALITY. BY I . L. MOCATTA.

DEAR , In fulfilment of my promise, I gladly place before you some of the numerous Biblical quotations which refer to the all-important subject of immortality. They are culled from the various books of the Old Testament, and directly or indirectly bear testimony that belief therein has ever been the very essence of the Jewish Faith. Referring, firstly, to the Five Books of Moses, we find that almost all relating to a future state is of a practical character; thus the death of the righteous Abel by the hand of his guilty brother, when considered in connection with the goodness of the Deity, affords ample evidence that this life is but the prelude to another and a better world. If'death be annihilation, where was AbeFs merited reward ? God had no sooner testified His pleasure with the conduct of His pious servant than death befel him ! Surely, were there no future state, this untimely fate must be considered a chastisement, and certainly not a recompense for his past virtuous life, thence we must believe in immortality if we believe in the justice and goodness of God. The death of Moses speaks no less forcibly to the same effect. For one inconsiderate act he was not only denied the privilege of entering the land of promise, but had to yield up his life at the very moment that his hopes were about to meet their fruition ! If dissolution of the mortal frame were indeed synonymous with extinction of the soul or spirit, breathed by God into man, we should assuredly be unable to reconcile the fact of his departure from this world at such a moment with the gracious attributes of the Lord. Truly the great law-giver Moses in his death added to his other valuable * See note p. 421.

LETTER O IMM011TALITY. 439 teachings the all-important lesson that at the very gates of death lies life everlasting. The translation of Enoch to heaven without dying is not without its significance ; indeed, it goes far to prove that another habitation does exist for the sons of men, and is reserved for the faithful servants of the Lord. Other practical examples might be adduced, but we will now select some quotations from the same five books which are scarcely less conclusive. Take the sentence, " Thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace";* also, chap, xxv, '' He was gathered unto his people"; and what meaning may we attach to such words but the assurance of a future state ? Indeed, when applied to Abraham, Moses, Aaron, Samuel, Jeremiah, and various others, it is evident that the soul, and not the body, is referred to, since not one of these was buried near his fathers, but in distant sepulchres, and in more than one instance lonely solitudes, far, far from the haunts of men. These words would otherwise be worse than meaningless ; they would not even bear the high stamp of truth, in itself an utter impossibility, proceeding as they did from the God of truth. Again, in Gen. xlvii, we find Jacob alluding to the length of his pilgrimage, and averring before Pharaoh that the years of his life had been ' ' few and evil". ow, the very word pilgrimage betokened his belief that this world was but a preparation for another, free from those trials which beset his path here on earth. Then among the divers laws given by Moses to the Israelites, we may note such expressions as these, Gen., " He who doeth this wrong shall be utterly destroyed", "that soul shall be cut off"; and again in Lev., " that soul shall be utterly cut off". Here death of the soul is threatened as a punishment, thereby clearly implying that a future world is reserved as a reward for the pious and virtuous. Then what is more significant and expressive of the belief in immortality among the Israelites than their impassioned words to Moses, " Behold, we die, we perish" ,-\ implying utter annihilation. Again, Moses * Gen. xv, 11. t umbers xvii, 12.

440 LETTER O IMMORTALITY. thus addresses the people,* " I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, therefore choose life", &c. ow, since death befalls the virtuous no less than the evil-disposed and vicious, " life" evidently here implies life everlasting. Further, by the light of immortality alone could the people have understood the promised reward of Moses that " their days should be as the days of heaven upon the earth" would they but act in obedience to the Holy Law. And again, did not Moses clearly allude to a future life when, after imploring forgiveness for his people, he added, " Yet now if Thou wilt not forgive their sin, then blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy Book". Surely, such words must convince us that a belief in immortality as well as future rewards and punishment was entertained both by the law-giver and his people. It is true, however, that the Five Books of Moses speak less plainly and touch more lightly on this subject, this belief, than the Psalms or the prophets, but the reason is obvious ; like prayer, it is an instinct, a craving of the human heart, and therefore, like it, was never especially "commanded". Further, Moses could not consistently set himself to impress a people, but lately emancipated from slavery, leading a wandering life and deeply engrossed in every-day cares, with the doctrine of prospective advantages in a future life, but this he knew full well, that when their minds became enlightened they would not only comprehend it, but would even grasp its full and high import. It sufficed that he had laid a foundation with ample materials to develop the superstructure into a fundamental principle in future generations. And as we pass onwards reviewing the various portions of Scripture, this truth openly reveals itself. We find that when once the Israelites had freed themselves from their enemies and established a powerful kingdom, then, and then only, were they enabled to dismiss the overwhelming cares of the moment, and turn their thoughts into loftier

* Deut. xxx, 19.

LETTER O IMMORTALITY. 441 channels. Spiritual welfare was then considered as well as the well-being of the body. Of this we may feel convinced when we peruse the beautiful Psalms of David, which repeatedly revert to the immortality of the soul. These were written/or the entire people, and had they not already entertained a well-grounded hope of a blessed hereafter, David's allusions thereto would have been totally unintelligible to them. How could they have comprehended such passages as these : Ps. xxiii, 3, "The Lord restoreth my soul"; Ps. cxix, 15, " God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, he will receive me"; and Ps. xcvii, 10, "Ye that love the Lord hate evil, He preserveth the soul of His saints"; and again, Ps. xxxvii, 37, "Mark the perfect man, for the end of that man is peace", such peace being the sure result of a firm belief in life eternal, for a holy trust ever banishes all fear, all doubts, all questionings. Then we have David's memorable words addressed to his servants on the- death of his son, " While the child lived I fasted and prayed, for who could tell whether God will be gracious to me that it may live, but now that he is dead, wherefore should I fast ? Can I bring him back again ? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me", Surely this answer alone would afford conclusive evidence of his faith in a world beyond the grave. Again, how may we construe the following words of Abigail to David if not persuaded that they allude to immortality : " The soul of my Lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God",* thence showing that the belief not only animated the king, but had taken firm hold on the minds of the whole people. Although more worldly-minded, Solomon spoke no less forcibly or distinctly of a future state than did his father David. His words are not to be misunderstood, being entirely free from all ambiguity. Thus in Eccles. we read, " All go to one place, all are of the dust,

and all turn to dust again ; who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upwards ?" and chap. 12, " Man goeth to his long * i Sain. xxv.

442 LETTER O IMMORTALITY. home ; then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return unto God who gave it". Then in Proverbs, which were especially adapted for the people, we read, chap, xi, " Righteousness delivereth from death"; also we are told, " When the wicked man dieth his expectation shall perish"; and again, " In the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death". We now turn to the Book of Job, supposed to have been written in the time of Moses, and therein we find additional proof that the blissful hope of immortality was then a belief, a fixed trust. Thus we read, chap, xix, " And after this body is destroyed, out of my flesh shall I see God". Again, " God looked upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, then will He deliver his soul, and his life shall see the light". A few practical incidents calculated to strengthen the belief in immortality may be here introduced ; for example, when Elijah prayed to God that Zarephath's child's soul should come into him again, the Lord granted his request, and "the soul came back unto him again, and he revived". Then also the translation of Elijah himself clearly proves that there is another habitation for the sons of men. Turning next to the Book of Kings, we find that in more than one instance death was promised as d blessing, as a reward for virtuous conduct, as in the case of that excellent monai'ch Josiah,* yet could this have been deemed such by monarchs in the zenith of their prosperity had they not firmly and fixedly believed in immortality ? And now we may add some quotations from the Books of

the Prophets, written at various epochs, most of them in the reigns of the Jewish kings, but some few when a portien of the Israelites had become captives and exiles in the land of their enemies. Thus we read in Isaiah xxvi, 19, " The dead shall live j aivake and sing ye that dwell in dust", etc. Again > chap. Iv, 3, " Incline your ear and come unto me, saith the Lord, and your soul shall live. Let the wicked * II Kings xxii, 20.

LETTER O IMMORTALITY. 443 man forsake his way and turn unto the Lord, and God will abundantly pardon". ext, extracting from Jeremiah xxii, 10, "Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him, but weep sore for him that goeth away (into exile), for HE shall return no more". Then what words could be more significant of eternal life than the following of Ezekiel, chap, xiii, 19 : " Thus saith the Lord God, will ye pollute me among my people to slay the souls that should not die ?" Again, speaking of a righteous man, chap, xviii, 9, " He hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments to deal truly, he is just , he shall surely live, saith the Lord". Also, alluding to the evil-doer, " When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive"; and again, chap, xxxiii, 1 5, " If the wicked restore the pledge, etc., walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity, he shall surely live, he shall not die". Turning next, to Daniel,. we read, chap, xii, "And at that time thy people shall be delivered every one that shall be found written in the Bool; and many of them that sleep in the dust shall awake, some to everlasting life, etc,, and they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever". Then in Hosea xiii, 9, " Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, b'ut in Me is thine help ; I will ransom them

from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death". Lastly, in Malachi iii, " They that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name". Truly, a reiteration of the words of Moses, containing the same glorious promise to the good and righteous. Profane History further yields ample evidence that the Biblical teachings of immortality were not lost upon the Jewish nation. During long years thousands died for their religion, and by their willing martyrdom not only proved their

444 LETTER O IMMOKTALITY. love and trust in the One sole God, but also practically demonstrated their belief in a future and happier state. To those who thus perished, death was not annihilation, but an entrance into realms of bliss. The writings of the learned Israelites of successive generations give additional testimony that this belief has never been extinct in the nation. And finally, as a conclusive proof that the immortality of the soul is, and ever was, an essential principle among the Jews, we need only turn to the thirteen fundamental articles of their faith, wherein this belief is clearly embodied. ow, had not Moses in. his five books inculcated this doctrine, had it been a mere instinct or the offshoot of another creed, this tenet could not possibly have found a place there. Assuredly that which Moses taught or commanded, and nothing else, forms the basis of the Jewish Faith. To his teachings, then, is this belief due, and if it has in a measure grown and strengthened in successive generations, such is but the natural consequence of the increase of enlightenment, and the ever-growing supremacy of reason and Faith .